


Shelter

by childofthenight2035



Category: GOT7, JJ Project
Genre: 6+1, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Fluff and Angst, M/M, No Smut But We're Almost There, Rain, Reverse Chronology, Suggestive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-11-02 10:47:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20719499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/childofthenight2035/pseuds/childofthenight2035
Summary: Jinyoung had always been Jaebum's shelter. They built their bridges, broke them down and built them again. And finally, despite the rain, they burned them.alternatively,The six times Jinyoung was Jaebum's shelter, and the one time he wasn't.





	Shelter

How long had Jaebeom been standing there before he left? How long had he been fighting desperately with himself, struggling to keep alight the only spark left within him? How long had his tears been diluted in the rain that came down harder than ever?

And how long had Jinyoung been waiting, his back to the door, for the slightest knock on the wood?  
Were whispered apologies enough to douse the flames?

*

Jaebeom was seething. He could hardly feel the rain pounding on his back in his rage.  
  
_“Mark? Who the hell is Mark?”_  
_“Hyung,” Youngjae had said. “Why are you so upset? He’s your best friend; shouldn’t you be happy for him?”_  
_Best friend. Best friend. Jaebeom clenched his fists._  
_“If I’m his best friend, how come all of you know about it and I didn’t?”_  
_“Maybe he knew you would overreact like this.” Youngjae had shrugged._  
_Quite uncharacteristically, Yugyeom had been the one to comfort him._  
  
He slammed his fists against Jinyoung’s door, not caring if he split the wood, not caring if he broke his knuckles. He wanted an answer, and by everything he believed in, he was going to get it.

The door opened, revealing to him Jinyoung’s confused face, which soon morphed into anxiety and surprise.  
“Hyung, get inside!” He seized Jaebeom by the arm and pulled him in. “How many times do I have to tell you—“

“Who is Mark?” Jaebeom growled for the second time that day, cleanly cutting off Jinyoung’s words. His friend faltered at the fury on Jaebeom’s face. “Who the _hell _is Mark?”

“Me.”

The unfamiliar voice in a place it didn’t belong sent Jaebeom reeling in shock; he tore his gaze away from Jinyoung to see a slender young man emerging from the bedroom. Jaebeom couldn’t read the expression on the stranger’s face, so he locked eyes with his best friend.

Best friend. Laughable.

“What is he doing here?” He hissed. “Why is he with you?” His heart ached to see Jinyoung physically recoil from him, fingers withdrawing from their grip on his arm. 

Best friend.

He watched him close his eyes and when they opened, his expression was set in stone.

“Mark hyung,” Jinyoung said stiffly. “We can discuss the presentation later. Could you excuse us for a moment?” If Jaebeom wasn’t so accustomed to Jinyoung, he might have missed the twitching of his eyes. “I have something I need to say to Jaebeom.”

Jaebeom. _Jaebeom._  
Not hyung.

“Sure. Take care. I’ll head out.” The newcomer, Mark, moved to the door and Jaebeom hastily stepped out of the way, noticing only now the laptop he was holding. The door swung shut and there was silence. The fury in Jinyoung’s eyes…was it his own, or was it Jaebeom’s reflected?

The bridges were burning.

“What was that?” Jinyoung burst out. “How can you be so impolite—“

“Don’t play around, Nyoung.” Jaebeom’s voice was stern, harsh. “Why was he here so late?” His stomach clenched at the thought of what he might have walked in on if he had arrived fifteen, ten, five minutes sooner or later.

“We were working on a presentation!” Jinyoung retorted, defensive. “Am I not allowed to do that, either?”

“Don’t lie to me, Nyoung!” Jaebeom spat. “Youngjae said—“ He broke off, not sure if he wanted to throw his friend in front of Jinyoung’s wrath. But the mere mention of the name seemed enough.

“Yeah? What did Youngjae say?” Jaebeom stilled at the clear hint of a challenge in his tone. He didn’t respond.

Jinyoung wasn’t pleased. “You’ll believe Youngjae, but not me?” Was Jinyoung trying to turn the tables onto him? “I’m your best friend.”

Best friend. Best friend.  
Suddenly the words seemed suffocating.

“Don’t,” Jaebeom said quietly, unable to look up. “Don’t call yourself that.”

And then there was silence.

“Im Jaebeom.” Was it horror, hushed and disbelieving, that he heard? “What are you trying to say?”

_That I love you._  
But he couldn’t say that. Not at the cost of losing someone so precious.  
So he didn’t say it.

“I don’t know.” Resigned. “I don’t know.”

“Then get out.”

His head shot up. “What?”

Jinyoung turned away firmly. “You’ve humiliated me in front of my senior, spoken this harshly and you won’t even explain why. I’m tired, hyung. So get out. Just leave.”

Were his eyes pleading? He didn’t know. Jinyoung wouldn’t look at him.

But since when has Jaebeom ever refused Jinyoung?

*

“Hyung!” Jinyoung exclaimed, pulling a drenched Jaebeom into the foyer of his apartment. “What were you thinking?” His voice, accusatory as always, still held a note of concern that Jaebeom could easily identify after so many years.

He smiled sheepishly at Jinyoung’s exasperated face, holding up two plastic bags in an attempt to distract him. “I brought chicken. Beer, too.”

“I know, hyung,” Jinyoung drawled, hooking his fingers into the handles and tugging the bags away from his soaked guest. “I’m the one who told you to.” After gently placing them on the coffee table, he surveyed the sopping mess and pursed his lips. “I’ll get you a towel. Don’t move.”

_He’s clearly upset with me but I still find him so endearing. How does that work? _Jaebeom’s fingertips still tingled from where they had just brushed against Jinyoung’s. _Are these kids right? Maybe I am whipped for him. But is that such a bad thing?_

“You really need to get yourself checked, hyung.” Jaebeom watched as his companion returned, unfolding a towel. “I can’t even remember how many times you’ve forgotten your umbrella and I have a great memory.” He tossed Jaebeom the towel and scowled. “You’re going to get really sick.”

“Ah, how can I get sick if I have Jinyoungie with me to take care of me?” Jaebeom grinned at the expression on his ace, dragging the cloth over his dripping strands of hair.

“Don’t count on it forever, hyung,” Jinyoung grumbled, plopping down on the sofa. He began taking the chicken out of its bag.

“I miss the Jinyoung before you got this apartment,” Jaebeom teased.

“I don’t. I hated the dorms. And I hate you.”

“You know you love me, though.” The words left Jaebeom’s mouth automatically, before he could stop them. Had the towel not obscured his vision, he would have seen Jinyoung’s hands stutter slightly as he unpacked the beer.

“You wish, hyung.”

Internally berating himself for saying that so carelessly, Jaebeom took his seat next to his best friend. Wanting to get rid of even the minimal awkwardness between them, he asked, “So are we continuing that drama or not?” Jinyoung wordlessly opened his laptop. The two of them had been watching a series featuring a boy who could read minds by touching the person in question.

The chicken and beer quickly depleted, and halfway through the seventh episode, the second of the night, Jinyoung suddenly spoke.

“Hyung?”

Jaebeom grunted, eyes still on the screen. Jinyoung sighed and paused it.

“Hyung, if I touched you, what would I read?”

Jaebeom’s mind went fuzzy. _What?_ He laughed under his breath, trying to play off his sudden nerves. “You already read my mind, Jirongie.” _You would see that I’m in love with you._

Jinyoung hummed, lips curling upward in satisfaction. He didn’t even notice Jaebeom’s tensed muscles or his nervous swallowing. 

Maybe it was the beer.

*

“Damn!” Jaebeom muttered. He leaned against a pillar at the entrance of his building, watching the rain threaten to break the roof. He had forgotten his umbrella—again. How was he supposed to get back to his apartment? Run?

He considered it. Run all that way? He would get soaked to the skin—and so would his bag, but he couldn’t spend the night in the studio! It was Jinyoung’s birthday!

There didn’t seem to be any other choice.  
Head bowed, he dashed out into the rain.

Less than a minute later, he realized that if he ran, he would most definitely fall; less than two minutes of picking his way down the sidewalk, someone honked at him, and persisted. Startled, he spun aroun and squinted through the sheets of water at a car pulling up beside him. The window rolled down. 

Jinyoung?

“Get in the car, hyung!” He heard him yell. 

Thanking his lucky stars, Jaebeom seized the handle and threw himself inside. Jinyoung wrinkled his nose.

“You got water all over me,” he whined, flicking away droplets that had—god forbid—landed on him. Jaebeom could only smile at his tone; he knew full well his best friend didn’t mean it—after all, what were friends for?

Ten minutes later, he was sitting on Jinyoung’s bed in his dorm, wearing warm, dry clothes and hair being towelled by Mr. Park himself.

“You’re going to catch a cold and then don’t complain,” he chided, giving his hair a sharp yank.

Jaebeom chuckled quietly. “Happy birthday, Jirongie.”

The hands working away at his head paused, possibly sensing the sentiment in the air. 

“Why, Jaebongie hyung,” he teased, “you’re being so nice today?” Jaebeom grasped his hands and brought him around to sit next to him.

“It’s the birthday of my favourite person in the world.” He didn’t miss the pink that tinged Jinyoung’s cheeks.

“Am I really your favourite?”

“What kind of question is that?” Jaebeom could scarcely believe what he was hearing. _Park Jinyoung, doubting that he solely owned Jaebeom’s heart? _“Even the kids complain so much because I let you get away with things that they don’t.”

“Then where’s your gift for your favourite?” Jinyoung seemed to relish saying that. 

Jaebeom grinned, bringing out a wrapped parcel from under the bed. His best friend’s face fell in astonishment. 

“Happy birthday, Nyoungie,” Jaebeom repeated. 

A pleased flush crept up his neck. “I didn’t think you would get me anything,” he admitted, scratching the back of his neck, embarrassed.

Jaebeom nudged him with the gift. “Open it.”

Eagerly, Jinyoung tore at the wrapping.

“Catcher in the Rye,” he whispered. “You remembered.” His eye crinkles were out completely. Jaebeom’s heart ached at the sight. 

“Of course I did.”

Jinyoung’s enthusiasm was contagious. When he looked back up, his expression couldn’t contain his glee at all. Laughing, Jaebeom grasped his nape and pulled him to his chest.

He’s changed his shampoo, Jaebeom realized as his next inhale sent an unfamiliar aroma up his nose. And then it dawned on him, perhaps as suddenly as he identified the new shampoo.

Jaebeom was heartsick.

Or perhaps it wasn’t sudden at all.  
He had been feeling that weight pressing down on his chest for a while now. Jinyoung’s eyes haunted him—overwhelmingly so. His laugh—Jaebeom loved hearing his laugh. He had lost count of how many times he had pulled Jinyoung’s hand away from his mouth. _Your smile is nothing to be ashamed of, Nyoung. _  
Their possessions—that wasn’t sudden, for sure. Jaebeom didn’t know when visits turned into sleepovers into near permanent residence. Their things were so evenly split between the apartment and the dorm that Jaebeom had long since considered just asking Jinyoung to move in with him. It would be easier, right? They were best friends after all.

Best friends.

Holding Jinyoung to his chest and drowning in his warmth, it dawned on him. And he was ashamed that he hadn’t understood it sooner.

Jaebeom was in love.

“Hyung.” Jinyoung’s muffled protests broke Jaebeom out of his reverie. “You can let go, you know.”

Jaebeom hastily released him, embarrassed. “You were warm.”

He scoffed. “Do I look like a sweater to you?” They were back to their usual banter and Jaebeom decided that he wasn’t going to do or say anything to jeopardize this, not for the world. 

“Then go get me one, birthday boy.” Jinyoung shot him a dirty look, but got up nevertheless.

Since when had Jinyoung ever refused Jaebeom?

*

“Nyoungie!” Jaebeom knocked on the dorm room door. “Jinyoung!” He glanced around the corridor, hoping nobody would come across him drenched in the rain, a shivering jacket cradled in his arms.

The door finally opened to show him Jinyoung yawning, hair rumpled, clearly just out of bed. “Yeah, hyung—“

Jaebeom let himself into the room without waiting for any invitation, rushing to the cupboard where he knew Jinyoung kept a hot plate. 

“Hyung, you’re soaked! What happened—“

“Close the door, Nyoung,” Jaebeom interrupted, heating the plate and rummagine around for a towel. Jinyoung obeyed, having caught on to the gravity of the situation. With a sense of foreboding, he cautiously approached his best friend. He watched, confused as Jaebeom slowly opened his jacket.

He gasped. “Hyung! What—“

Jaebeom brought a finger to his lips, unable to conceal his grin. Jinyoung looked on in disbelief. 

On the jacket lay a small cat—a kitten?—trembling at Jaebeom’s touch.

“I found her stuck in the rain,” he explained. “I couldn’t just leave her there.”

“Is she really young?”

“A few months, I’d say.” Jaebeom gently lifted her onto the heated towel and proceeded to carefully dry her. The consequent process of cleaning the kitten up and feeding her had Jinyoung staring in awe and increasing respect for his best friend.

Best friend.

He scoffed internally. He hadn’t seen Jaebeom as just a best friend on so long, but he wouldn’t say anything to him, not when Jaebeom was still such a mystery. Straight as a lamppost, but refused any girl that asked him out. Whatever he did sent sparks shooting into Jinyoung’s heart. This kitten business wasn’t helping at all.  
Jaebeom’s eyes disappeared as he smiled to himself and baby talked the now relaxed cat. And Jinyoung told himself that he was utterly and truly fucked.

“Doesn’t she have an owner, hyung?”

Jaebeom frowned, as if he was only contemplating that then. “I didn’t see any collar or tag or anything…” He trailed off, looking expectantly at him. “Nyoungie…” he began in a voice that Jinyoung knew only too well. That was his sappy voice. He wanted something. And Jinyoung knew only too well what that might be.

“Hyung, don’t even think—“

“Nyoungie, please,” he begged. “I’ll take her to my parents when I go back home for the weekend tomorrow night. Just keep her until I finish my exam. Please, Nyoung. You don’t even have classes tomorrow. And Jackson won’t be back until next week.” Jaebeom pouted. “I would keep her in my room but you know that Sungjin hyung is a TA, he’d report me in a heartbeat.”

Since when has Jinyoung ever refused Jaebeom?

He made a final attempt. “Hyung, I don’t even know—“

“I would have asked Youngjae but he has an exam,” Jaebeom hurriedly said. 

Jealousy surged within him.  
Youngjae?

“Why would you ask Youngjae?” Jinyoung snapped. “I’m your best friend, aren’t I?” He held out his arms. “Give me the cat.”

Best friend.

Jaebeom grinned broadly, white teeth on full display. “Thank you, Nyoungie.”

Grumbling, but still pleased, Jinyoung asked, “What’s her name, hyung?”

Jaebeom just looked at him. He couldn’t tell what those eyes held. “Why don’t you name her?”

Taken aback by the gesture, he thought aloud. “You like songs, don’t you? Then why not name her Nora?”

And then those eyes vanished as Jaebeom smiled. “Nora.”

*

_Did Jaebeom hyung already go home?_

Jinyoung peered through the heavy rain from where he stood under the bus stop outside school. The bus would be arriving in ten minutes and Jaebeom was nowhere to be seen.  
Just when he was about to confirm his assumption, from the thick sheet of rain burst in his best friend, sopping wet. 

“Hyung!” Jinyoung exclaimed, relieved. Jaebeom flashed him a sheepish grin and proceeded to shake himself off like a wet dog. “I thought you already left without me.”

Taking off his cap and running fingers through his damp hair, Jaebeom grimaced. “The old bat gave me detention. I just sweet talked Ms. Kim into convincing her to let me off.”

“Ahh.” Jinyoung forgave his friend at once.

Jaebeom squinted at the rain. “Is it time for the bus yet?”

As if on cue, they heard the honking of the bus and the younger boy opened his umbrella. The elder slid under it apologetically, ignoring the other’s exasperated words.

“Aishh, get your own umbrella, hyung!” Jinyoung whined once they had jumped aboard and sat down. “Maybe then you wouldn’t have to run in the rain and get wet.”

“Why should I do that when I have you?” He scoffed at Jaebeom’s remark, suddenly freezing when Jaebeom rested his head on Jinyoung’s shoulder.

“What—What are you doing?” Jinyoung stuttered, lightly bouncing his arm to disturb him. Jaebeom swatter at his thigh.

“’M tired, Nyoungie,” he mumbled.

Jinyoung’s heart seized up. Perhaps it even stopped beating for a moment.

_Jaebongie hyung, don’t do this to me._  
He had known for a while. He had known what Jaebeom did to him—surely it couldn’t be good for his health or his sanity. He had questioned it before. Did he like Jaebeom, or was it just because he was gay and Jaebeom was simply convenient? He didn’t think it was just a matter of convenience. He had lost count of all the times he restrained himself from pressing impulsive kisses to the two moles above Jaebeom’s eye or to his lips, or possibly other places. He knew Jaebeom better than anyone and he knew this wasn’t just convenience.  
In fact, Jaebeom was probably the least convenient person for Jinyoung, considering his pettiness and Jaebeom’s temper, and yet Jinyoung was still head over heels.

Best friend?  
Jinyoung was in love.  
And Jaebeom’s proximity wasn’t doing him any good at the moment.

“Hyung?” he attempted.

“Mm?”

“You’re graduating at the end of the year. Do you know what you’re going to do?”

He felt Jaebeom shift slightly. “I’ve applied for an internship at JYP,” he admitted. “If I don’t get it, I guess I’ll go to college here.”

As much as Jinyoung wanted him to get the internship and follow his dreams, a tiny selfish part of him couldn’t help but want him to stay, want Jaebeom just to himself.

“What am I going to do without you here next year?” Jinyoung whined.

His best friend sat up with a shit-eating grin on his face, nudging Jinyoung. “Aigoo, is Jirongie going to miss me?” Jinyoung batted away the hand that tried to pinch his cheek.

“Stop it, hyung.” He pouted.

Jaebeom laughed in his face. “Come on, our stop is here.”

Jinyoung didn’t think he’d ever be more comfortable with anyone else as they walked down the street attached at the hip under the cramped umbrella. Jaebeom, being Jaebeom, said that he would run the rest of the way to his house, but Jinyoung insisted that he stay until the rain subsided.

Even as Jaebeom greeted his mother with the love and familiarity as if she was his own, Jinyoung’s insides throbbed. How long was he going to keep this secret?

“Hyung,” he burst out once his mother was out of earshot. “I—there’s something I have to tell you.”

Jaebeom leaned back in his chair. “Yeah, tell me.”

“I—“ Jinyoung’s voice caught in his throat and he attempted to swallow his nerves down. His eyes prickled. The elder boy seemed startled by the sudden appearance of tears.

“Nyoungie,” he whispered. The concern in his voice had Jinyoung sobbing harder. He heard Jaebeom make a confused noise and the next thing he knew, he was being pulled up from his chair and led by the hand to his room.

Neither of them spoke until Jinyoung was safely and comfortably settled on his bed and the door locked. Jaebeom sat beside him, rubbing his nape soothingly.

“What is it, Jirongie?” The younger boy was grateful that he was using a gentle tone.

“Please don’t think any differently of me, hyung,” Jinyoung pleaded. “I don’t know if I could survive that.”

Jaebeom couldn’t mask his worry. “You know nothing will make me think badly of you, Nyoung. Just tell me what happened.”

Jinyoung shivered. _Am I really going to do this? I thought I could live my entire life without telling him but I feel so guilty! _“Hyung, I—“ he choked out. “I’m gay.”

Silence.  
A sigh of relief.  
“You scared me, I thought you might be ill or something.”

Jinyoung glanced up through his blurry vision at Jaebeom’s gleeful face. “Huh?”

He pinched the younger’s cheek. “Nyoung, did you really think I didn’t know?” Laughing at his friend’s expression, he slung an arm around his shoulder. “I had my suspicions. You were always giving Junho hyung heart eyes.” He shot Jinyoung a mischievous grin. “Was he the one who turned you?”

Jinyoung went red. “Wha—what do you mean?”

“Don’t be shy, Nyoungie,” the elder teased. “Tell the truth, was it him?”

Embarrassed and mildly panicking, Jinyoung reluctantly nodded. 

For days afterward, he couldn’t get Jaebeom’s triumphant expression out of his head.

_No, hyung, it wasn’t Junho. It was you.  
It’s always been you._

*

“Jinyoung-ah!”

The young boy barely looked up from his game. “Yes, eomma?” He jumped slightly when thunder boomed outside. He hadn’t even noticed that it was raining.

“Come down here, will you?”

“Aishh,” Jinyoung grumbled, pausing his game and hauling himself off his bed. “What does she want now?” Quite disagreeably, he stomped his way downstairs, ignoring his sisters who were staring out the front window and giggling. He presented himself in front of his mother.

“Jinyoung-ah, there’s a boy standing out on the porch,” she informed him. “Go and see if he’s okay. Invite him in if you want.”

Curiosity piqued, he pushed his way past his sisters to peer out the window. Just as she said, there was a boy standing on the porch. Near the steps, looking out at the rain and the sky, as if wondering when it would stop. Every few seconds, he would glance around anxiously. Was he scared that the residents would come out and scold him?

“Move,” he said impatiently to his sisters and opened the door.

The boy jumped when he heard the approaching footsteps. He seemed a little guilty, apologetic for intruding.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted out formally, before Jinyoung could get even a word out. “I didn’t mean to just stand here, it’s just that it started raining and I didn’t have an umbrella so—“

“No, no, please,” Jinyoung cut in, also speaking formally. “I’m not here to throw you out. Actually—“ he broke off, hesitating. “My mom asked me to check if you were okay…”

The boy’s lips parted in shock and he blushed, eyes falling to the floor. Jinyoung watched him with interest. He took in the boy’s dark unkempt locks and realized his clothes were nearly soaked.

“Do you want to step inside?” Jinyoung asked, surprising himself. “You’ll catch a cold if you don’t get dry.” To his amusement, the stranger looked more startled, as if he wasn’t expecting such kindness. He nodded.

Jinyoung turned back to the door, gesturing for him to follow. “I’m Jinyoung, by the way. Park Jinyoung.”

“Im Jaebeom,” the other replied, trailing after him.

His mother welcomed Jaebeom quite warmly and to Jinyoung’s relief, did nothing to embarrass him. At her order to get the boy a towel, the two stumbled around the hall to the laundry room. 

“Are you in the sixth grade, too?” Jinyoung asked inquisitively, rummaging in the bin for a towel.

“Ah, no, I’m in the seventh,” the newcomer answered, gratefully accepting the cloth that the other handed to him. 

“Oh, so you’re my hyung. Can I call you hyung?”

Jaebeom nodded, face breaking out into a dazzling smile that left Jinyoung winded. “Do you go to Kirin?”

The younger bounced on his heels eagerly. “You, too?”

By the time Jaebeom dried off and they wandered back into the living room, Jinyoung’s mother had set the table for dinner. Jinyoung immediately noticed the extra plate.

“Will you stay for dinner, Jaebeom?” His mother asked kindly, motioning to the food. Jaebeom’s face fell.

“My mother will be expecting me home soon…” he trailed off, crestfallen. The rain, Jinyoung realized, had nearly stopped.

“Where exactly do you live, dear?”

He gestured vaguely outside. “About three houses down the block. We just moved in.”

Jinyoung couldn’t hold back his smile. _So we’re almost neighbours! Guess I have a new friend!_

His mother, after much polite refusal, finally let Jaebeom leave, but not without packing him dishes as a welcome gift. 

“You’ll have to visit again, hyung,” Jinyoung told him brightly. “Even if it’s just to bring the containers back.”

Jaebeom’s parting smile left Jinyoung sleepless with excitement for several nights to come.

*

Jinyoung couldn’t believe it.

He knew Jaebeom was standing outside his apartment building, hesitating—he’d seen him through the window, shivering down there without a jacket. Typical. And then it had started raining. Also typical.

_Is the entire sky crying just as I am? Are the clouds too upset to watch?_

And Jinyoung had been so sure that he would hear footsteps coming up the stairs, a knock on the door, but it never came. He exhausted his tears on the floor by the entrance and went back to the window.

Jaebeom was gone.  
_Jaebeom, after coming there, to his best friend of ten years, had left._

Something broke inside Jinyoung’s heart. A peculiar feeling told him that if he didn’t do anything about it, this would be permanent.  
Jaebeom had always come to Jinyoung.

He stood up, seizing his jacket and letting himself out.

Maybe this time, he would go to Jaebeom.  
.

Jaebeom couldn’t believe himself.

Had he really…walked away?

He didn’t want to think that. But he had. And he was still walking, homeward, through the rain hammering into his shoulder blades.  
And then he was nearing his apartment building, so close to shelter—shelter that he would gladly give up if only Jinyoung was with him—

“YAH, IM JAEBEOM!”

He stopped short at his name being called, the voice that called and the (still endearing) disrespect.  
He didn’t want to believe it.  
He didn’t think he deserved to believe it, to even hope.

“Im Jaebeom! Did you not hear me?”

It was him. Jaebeom had no doubt now.  
_Why was he here?”_

He turned.

Less than five feet away stood Jinyoung, drenched to the skin, raven locks plastered to his forehead and fury on his face. Jaebeom swallowed the sob that rose in his throat.

“Since you’re such a coward that you can’t even face me and say what you want to say!” Jinyoung yelled. He flinched at how those words cut him. “So I’m going to tell you myself!” Jinyoung stepped closer. “You, are infuriating, and _I hate you!_”

And then they were kissing, his fingernails raking through Jaebeom’s hair, the elder’s hands gripping his waist to pull him closer. They were kissing, all teeth and no softness, just years of pent up anger, frustration and jealousy, being taken out on each other. The rain only made slicker the drag of their mouths.  
Neither Jinyoung nor Jaebeom knew who initiated it, but neither seemed to care nor want it to stop. Jinyoung hardly realized that they had crossed into shelter, near the stairs of Jaebeom’s apartment, until his back was forced against a cold wall.  
He couldn’t stop himself; he let out whimper when Jaebeom rolled his hips into Jinyoung’s. The elder nipped at his lip and his mouth fell open in surprise. Seizing Jaebeom’s collar, he pushed him away—not too far, but enough for him to heave in shaking breaths.  
“I love you,”he gasped into Jaebeom’s mouth. “I love you, I love you, I love you—!” His desperate words were muffled as Jaebeom pressed insistently into him. Arousal pulsed through him in waves as they mindlessly rutted against each other, swallowing each other’s noises.  
Jinyoung was losing his mind, he couldn’t feel the clothes sticking to him anymore, wet fingers crept under his shirt, he thought he heard Jaebeom mumble _you’re driving me crazy_ into his lips—

Footsteps on the stairs above them.

Breath hitching, he planted his palms on Jaebeom’s chest and pushed him away, as far away as necessary. Their hands immediately straightened themselves.

A lady walked downstairs and the two of them bowed in greeting. Her gaze landed on their soaked, dishevelled states. Jinyoung tugged his shirt further down, hoping she wouldn’t be able to see the obvious bulge in his trousers. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to.

“It’s raining hard, isn’t it?” she commented, opening her umbrella. “You should dry off soon, it’s easy to catch a fever in this weather.” 

“Yes, ma’am, we will,” Jaebeom replied politely. They watched her step out. An awkward silence fell over them. Jaebeom glanced over at his companion, wondering what he was thinking. 

The interruption had killed the mood quite effectively. Neither of them seemed to know what to do with themselves. 

“She’s right,” Jinyoung said. “We should dry off.”

“Right. Yeah. You’re right.” Jaebeom gestured to the stairs. “I’ll, uh, get you a towel. Your clothes are here.”

The two of them didn’t speak as they climbed the stairs, still disoriented. They didn’t speak as they changed out of their wet clothes and towelled their hair. 

Jinyoung stepped out of the bathroom and went to the living room to find the owner of the apartment sitting on the sofa. Waiting for him? Wincing at the ridiculousness of the situation, he gingerly seated himself on the other end of the sofa. The cushion between them seemed like an ocean.

Nora, their cat in everything but name, leapt up onto the coffee table, facing them as if she was a counsellor there to talk to them about sorting out their issues. _How does she know when we’re upset with each other? _Jinyoung thought. _Has living with Jaebeom made her human?_

“Nora,” he called, addressing her. “Tell your Appa that he’s a universal idiot.”

She cocked her head and meowed at Jaebeom as if she knew what Jinyoung had said. Jaebeom’s lips parted, offended.

“And you tell your Dad that I don’t deserve to be called that.”

Another mewl, this time directed at Jinyoung. 

“No, Nora. He does deserve to be called that. If there’s one thing man needs to survive, it’s courage.” Jinyoung folded his arms. “Surely your Appa isn’t saying that he’s incredibly brave? He came to yell at me because he was jealous but he wouldn’t admit anything.”

Meow.

“Am I not brave, Nora, for sacrificing my feelings for him for two whole years just so we wouldn’t lose our friendship?”

Jinyoung scoffed. “Then I should be the saviour of the world, shouldn’t I? For sacrificing my feelings for six years?”

Jinyoung heard the small intake of breath. 

“Six years?” Jaebeom was looking at him now. “You’ve…you’ve had feelings for me for six years? And you didn’t say anything?”

Jinyoung flushed. “You were as straight as a stick for most of that time. How was I supposed to know?”

Nora hissed savagely, startling both of them, before bounding away into the apartment. The message was clear. _Both of you are fuck-ups._

“Nyoung-ah,” Jaebeom breathed out. “Are we really doing this?”

Jinyoung finally found the strength to look at him. “You tell me.”

Jaebeom moved until he was sitting right next to him, thighs pressing against each other. “Nyoungie,” he murmured into his ear, sending shivers down Jinyoung’s spine. “From what happened down there…” He huffed out a laugh against the younger’s neck. “I would say it’s not going to end well if we keep denying it.” 

Jinyoung’s hand found Jaebeom’s. “Then let’s not.”

“You’re my shelter, Jinyoung.” Jaebeom’s eyes darted to his lips. “I love you.”

And he pulled him closer, closer, lips against lips, chest to chest. 

The rain came down as it always had. The flames were extinguished. And when the steam faded, the bridges were still there, strong as they had always been. 

Best friends.

“I love you, hyung.”


End file.
